The Road Less Traveled
by Be and Wanna-Be
Summary: A blood elf reflects on her choice of friends. Oneshot.


The charred remains of what had once been vibrantly shaded green grass crackled beneath Zylis' mail clad feet as she trudged onward through the aptly named Scorched Grove. She continued placing one foot in front of the other, moving forward in direction, at least, if not in purpose. Blood Knight Levinin had sent her out to this gods forsaken wilderness just to see if it would break her, she had a feeling, and she was determined to prove him wrong. She knew that it wasn't the enemies that she would find out here that he expected to cause her any type of hardship, but the loneliness and pure monotony of endlessly killing the same creatures.

The Scorched Grove was overrun with treants, Withered Green Keepers, to be exact, and she was expected to exterminate as many as she could on her forced exile from Silvermoon City and the Blood Knights. So far she had done her duty and the corpses of numerous treants lay dead in her wake, but she was fast becoming bored with the task set out before her. The vast majority of the treants that inhabited the once lush forest was forcing her to reconsider her optimistic view that this quest would not take her long to complete.

She arched, her shield digging into her lower back as she moved, and let out a decidedly unladylike snort. She knew the real reason that the head of her order had sent her out to this remote part of the continent, and it did nothing to sway her original opinion of the pompous blood elf. Like many of their kind, her leader shared the opinion that those who were not attractive should be shunned and treated as below the pretty blood elves.

Her friendship with the undead warlock, Naggassh was abhorred by the elder blood elf, and many in their circle, and as such she was perpetually walking a thin line with the Blood Knights, and blood elves in general. She knew they only tolerated her because of the promise that she had shown with her healing abilities, and while this made her proud of herself, it also brought about a feeling of profound sadness for her race. What did it say about them, that they only cared about how a race looked, and not how they acted?

She continued on, her feet stepping firmly on the loose soil as she moved to her next target. The treant charged her, and she quickly unsheathed her sword and readied her shield to absorb the oncoming blow. Her long black hair swung as the treants blow lifted her small frame an inch off the ground and she grunted with the effort of maintaing her balance when her feet finally settled on the ground once again.

**-Whack- **

Her battle etched sword sliced into the thick bark of the treant and a small smile of satisfaction broke on her lips as she noticed the small stream of sickly looking sap that spewed from the small nick that her blade had made in her enemy. Unfortunately, her damage seemed to enrage the treant, and he struck back harder, forcing her to use the butt of her weapon to stun him while she cast a spell of healing upon herself. It wasn't often that she had to heal herself while in the heat of battle, only when she was distracted, which she knew was a good way to get herself killed. If she had mistimed the healing spell...

The stun wore off of the treant, and she focused all of her thoughts on defeating her foe, pushing less pressing matters to the side for future contemplation while she dispatched of the treant.

**-Whack- **

**-Slap- **

**-Whack- **

A few more well-timed whacks with her sword left the unfortunate treant lying in a pile of twigs at her feet and she quickly bent down to wipe the sticky sap-like substance on the brown grass. It wouldn't do to have anything corrode the only weapon she was likely to have for a while. While the other paladins trainers seemed to love bestowing new weapons and armor on their pupils, Levinin seemed to take a sick sort of pleasure in seeing her run around in the shoddiest armor, swinging the oldest and smallest weapon that he could find for her.

Zylis sniffed disdainfully as she sheathed her sword, thinking that it was about time that she had another one. Even Naggassh, a warlock who used spells as opposed to steel, had a better weapon then her. As her thoughts turned to her friend she made a decision.

"Alliance take Levinin," she growled as she turned and made her way to the village of Tranquillien, the last place that she had seen Naggassh. She was going to find her friend and see what he was up to, before she died of boredom out in the Scorched Grove, where she was pretty certain her body wouldn't be found until Levinin sent another of his students who had displeased him to do penance.


End file.
